The Last Goodbye

Rating:
Summary: OVER THE TOP
Review: Reed Arvin is a talented writer, but this story is just too farfetched. A good suspense novel will keep the reader anticipating what might happen next. When you have an "anything can happen" story like this one, your anticipation turns into apathy.

Rating:
Summary: My Introduction to a Promising Writer
Review: Reed Arvin's second thriller is a great read.

The tale begins with a crying woman. Soon lawyer Jack Hammond, is doing the crying. As a result of his love affair with a client's girl friend, he tumbles from defending Atlanta's corporate elite to trawling the bottom of its criminal pool for clients.

The story of his journey back to personal respectability is, however more than your average thriller.

It is not often that a new writer creates believable, complex characters that find themselves in poignant, often, tender relationships. It is a thriller for thinking readers. Best of all, it is story that flies. Despite Arvin's unique insights on race, business ethics, your past burdens, science, technology and love, the story never drags.

My only complaint with the book is with Arvin's inaccurate use of stock market jargon. But if this book is as successful as I think it will be, he will not have to worry. He will quickly develop a familiarity with that specialized vocabulary as he invests his residuals and future advances.

Rating:
Summary: A thriller!
Review: Reed Arvin, The Last Goodbye (Harper, 2004)

Before you read the rest of this review, do yourself a favor. Go to Amazon (if you're not reading it there) and put this book on pre-order. Then come back and finish.

Done? Okay.

The Last Goodbye is Reed Arvin's second novel, so I can't call it the most stunning debut I've read in the last two years (and I've read a bunch of them). And, to be fair, it does have a few minor faults here and there. But it's still better than most any thriller you've read in the last twelve months.

The story of Jack Hammond is so full of plot twists and turns that even explaining the first twenty pages would cause spoileritis (in other words, don't read any reviews but this one, or you'll lose the effect of the end of chapter one). Suffice to say that Jack Hammond is a lawyer whose buddy ends up dead. He wants to find out why. "Why" involves an internationally famous opera singer, a clinical trial of a new hepatitis-C drug, one of the most powerful lawyers in Atlanta, the main drug runner in Atlanta's biggest section of projects, computer hackers, and a whole cast of various freaks, outcasts, degenerates, and other generally fun human beings.

What kept going through my mind as I was reading this was that this was the return of the hard-boiled detective novel. Let's face it, the hard-boiled detective has gotten kind of, well, cuddly over the last thirty years. And as wonderful as Spenser is, we have to blame him for this. I mean, the guy cooks shrimp scampi in his spare time, when he's not getting beaten by thugs. Jack Hammond is no Spenser. He has more in common with Mike Hammer (and while that may not sound like a compliment, it is). The shysters talk fast, the dames are beautiful, the mugs get beat, the bullets fly, the mystery is solved only to find two more mysteries beneath. But layered over all that is the one thing it's impossible to write a book about Atlanta in the twenty-first century without addressing: race. So in actuality, The Last Goodbye is what might have happened if the new, improved hardboiled detective had taken a left at Robert Parker instead of a right.

The conclusion is obvious. And while two novels into a career is not a time to stand up and proclaim Reed Arvin as the next Robert Parker, or even the next Spillane, he's got the goods, he's got the mindset, he's got the potential. Read this book. ****

Rating:
Summary: Epitomizes the contemporary thriller
Review: The contemporary thriller has now been epitomized. Reed Arvin, the talented young author, has delivered a book that stands high and above its contemporary competition for several different reasons. For one, and most importantly, the book has a lot of meat to it. Arvin deals thoughtfully and diligently with a lot of hot-button contemporary issues: race relations, corporate crime, the disparity between the rich and the poor, the modern drug scene, and more. He also delves into explorations of love, lust, and morality. It is hardly hyperbolic to call the novel philosophical -- at least as far as modern writing goes: it certainly doesn't get any better than this. Second, the book avoids most, though not all, of the modern thriller's cliches. As mentioned before, there is more to this book than just the surface fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants plot: there is depth and complexity: it is not just a mere thriller for thrill's sake. A cliched ending is also avoided. For once, with a modern book, the competent reader can read The Last Goodbye without picturing it as an overblown, big-budget Hollywood motion picture: there is enough meat to this book that a lot would be lost in the process of transferring it to celluloid. The book is also well-written and the dialogue is quite funny.

It should be noted that, though the novel's protagonist is a lawyer, this is not a legal thriller. There are very few courtroom scenes, and they are not the focus of the book. The numerous comparisons to Grisham are not applicable; fans of the strict legal genre that he pioneered should look elsewhere. However, fans of that author as well as some of the other better contemporary authors -- Crichton and his like -- will find much to love here; indeed, aside from Crichton fans, this might well be the best thing that they've ever read. For those who generally stay away from the modern thriller and want more complexity in their novels, here, finally, is a book that you won't be disappointed in. Anyone who fits into any of these categories and is looking for a good read -- look no further than The Last Goodbye.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: THE LAST GOODBYE by Reed Arvin
October 30, 2004

In this legal thriller by Reed Arvin, attorney Jack Hammond battles demons as he tries to eke out a living in THE LAST GOODBYE. He was once a lawyer working for a successful law firm Carthy, Williams, and Douglas, but due to a mistake he made by getting involved with a client causes his dismissal. The mistake had eventually led to the murder of this client, and now Hammond lives with the guilt of her death on his conscience.

Fast-forward several years and he involves himself in the death of a college friend. It appears to be suicide, but clues tell Hammond that it looks like murder. He takes it upon himself to find out who killed Doug Townsend, and this in turn leads him to a beautiful opera diva who is battling a past of her own.

I have to admit, although this book did interest me and I wanted to know how it ended, a lot of the plot seemed implausible. I didn't mind that many of the lesser characters were no more than caricatures, but the opera singer, Michele Sonnier, turned out to be very unbelievable. A lot of her past did not mesh with what she came to be in the present, and I just did not buy it.

I feel that Arvin has talent, but he needs to learn to develop his characters with more realism and logic. Without believable characters populating a novel, it's hard to believe in the plot. This book is marginally recommended.

Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Put it Down, But.....
Review: The Last Goodbye is a gripping, compelling read--but I have to say that after finishing it, I felt kind of like "Is that all there is?" The story is essentially a good one--down on his luck lawyer's old friend dies of an overdose, or does he? Friend investigates the murder, with the help of a cyberpunk client and discovers web of lies and deceit, while he may be falling in love with dead friend's obsessive love. The dialogue works, the writing is good, but certain elements of the plot just didn't ring true and overall the plot seems like a rehash of other novels. Still--this book would certainly be a fine companion on a long plane flight or in a boring waiting room--it will provide an excellent diversion--just not one you would feel like talking with your book club about.

Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Put it Down, But.....
Review: The Last Goodbye is a gripping, compelling read--but I have to say that after finishing it, I felt kind of like "Is that all there is?" The story is essentially a good one--down on his luck lawyer's old friend dies of an overdose, or does he? Friend investigates the murder, with the help of a cyberpunk client and discovers web of lies and deceit, while he may be falling in love with dead friend's obsessive love. The dialogue works, the writing is good, but certain elements of the plot just didn't ring true and overall the plot seems like a rehash of other novels. Still--this book would certainly be a fine companion on a long plane flight or in a boring waiting room--it will provide an excellent diversion--just not one you would feel like talking with your book club about.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Goodbye
Review: The Last Goodbye is a very fast moving yet complex thriller. Although Jack is a lawyer, this is not a legal thriller or courtroom drama. Arvin touches on many issues throughout the novel including socio-economic class disparities, race, personal morals and business ethics, all of which allow the reader to become more involved and informed with the flow of events. The characters and settings are described expertly and I was able to develop a clear picture of everyone involved and every place described. For instance, one of Jack's clients, Michael Harrod, is described as having "spikey hair, like Joseph's famed coat: a haircut of many colors. Piercings were numerous and painful-looking. His T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the band Nine Inch Nails, was badly in need of washing. But in spite of all of this, he was about as scary as an altar boy. At five foot six and 130 pounds, the T-shirt covered a nearly concave chest. His skin, having apparently been deprived of sunlight. This is why I believe that this is a very good book to read.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Goodbye
Review: The last Goodbye is Set in Atlanta, it is the story of Jack Hammond, a once-promising young attorney down on his luck after sleeping with the wrong woman. "As usual, the story begins with a woman crying." Jack Hammond in this mesmerizing thriller about a good man caught in a web of bad love and murder. Beautiful client Violeta Ramirez is doing the crying on behalf of her dope-dealer boyfriend when Jack tumbles so hard for her his high-flying legal career is grounded and Violeta ends up dead. Two years later, Jack is working out of his one-man law office fishing for clients at the bottom of the criminal pool when he begins investigating the suspicious overdose death of his old college pal, Doug Townsend. With the help of a local hacker, Nightmare, Jack unlocks Doug's computer and stumbles into a quagmire involving the deaths of eight hepatitis C patients who were all enrolled in an experimental drug trial gone horribly wrong. Doug was also strangely obsessed with beautiful African-American opera singer Michele Sonnier, as is Jack after one look at her photos and a night at the opera. That her husband is the billionaire CEO of a local drug firm with its own heptites C drug makes the liaison even more dangerous. After finding the disgraced researcher who headed the botched drug trial, Jack and his lowlife helpers begin to make real headway in solving the case. Even though melancholy, wisecracking Jack is a lawyer, this isn't a legal thriller so much as a knight-in-shining armor tale with the hero cast in the mold of the great Travis McGee.
The Last Goodbye is a very fast moving yet complex thriller. Although Jack is a lawyer, this is not a legal thriller or courtroom drama. Arvin touches on many issues throughout the novel including socio-economic class disparities, race, personal morals and business ethics, all of which allow the reader to become more involved and informed with the flow of events.
The characters and settings are described expertly and I was able to develop a clear picture of everyone involved and every place described. For instance, one of Jack's clients, Michael Harrod, is described as having "spikey hair, like Joseph's famed coat: a haircut of many colors. Piercings were numerous and painful-looking. His T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the band Nine Inch Nails, was badly in need of washing. But in spite of all of this, he was about as scary as an altar boy. At five foot six and 130 pounds, the T-shirt covered a nearly concave chest. His skin, having apparently been deprived of sunlight.
Averin has a big roll in the book trying to keep himself out of trouble but also compares his life from the real world.
What I love most about The Last Goodbye is the backdrop of Atlanta's underbelly. The topics of race, interracial romance, drugs, inner-city neighborhoods and crimes are insightful and realistic. The aforementioned backdrop and topics are my favorite aspects of the novel. I also love the fact that the story is ironic at times. Reed Arvin is a very talented writer. As said earlier, I often read this sort of book with a cynical eye, for I can't help but wonder who will star in the inevitable film version, but this novel floored me. It's one of the best thrillers out there The reason why i say it is the best thriller is because you never want to put the book down its like you can imagine what is going on but you have to know about stock marketing so you can understand the ending of the book.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Goodbye
Review: The last Goodbye is Set in Atlanta, it is the story of Jack Hammond, a once-promising young attorney down on his luck after sleeping with the wrong woman. "As usual, the story begins with a woman crying." Jack Hammond in this mesmerizing thriller about a good man caught in a web of bad love and murder. Beautiful client Violeta Ramirez is doing the crying on behalf of her dope-dealer boyfriend when Jack tumbles so hard for her his high-flying legal career is grounded and Violeta ends up dead. Two years later, Jack is working out of his one-man law office fishing for clients at the bottom of the criminal pool when he begins investigating the suspicious overdose death of his old college pal, Doug Townsend. With the help of a local hacker, Nightmare, Jack unlocks Doug's computer and stumbles into a quagmire involving the deaths of eight hepatitis C patients who were all enrolled in an experimental drug trial gone horribly wrong. Doug was also strangely obsessed with beautiful African-American opera singer Michele Sonnier, as is Jack after one look at her photos and a night at the opera. That her husband is the billionaire CEO of a local drug firm with its own heptites C drug makes the liaison even more dangerous. After finding the disgraced researcher who headed the botched drug trial, Jack and his lowlife helpers begin to make real headway in solving the case. Even though melancholy, wisecracking Jack is a lawyer, this isn't a legal thriller so much as a knight-in-shining armor tale with the hero cast in the mold of the great Travis McGee.
The Last Goodbye is a very fast moving yet complex thriller. Although Jack is a lawyer, this is not a legal thriller or courtroom drama. Arvin touches on many issues throughout the novel including socio-economic class disparities, race, personal morals and business ethics, all of which allow the reader to become more involved and informed with the flow of events.
The characters and settings are described expertly and I was able to develop a clear picture of everyone involved and every place described. For instance, one of Jack's clients, Michael Harrod, is described as having "spikey hair, like Joseph's famed coat: a haircut of many colors. Piercings were numerous and painful-looking. His T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the band Nine Inch Nails, was badly in need of washing. But in spite of all of this, he was about as scary as an altar boy. At five foot six and 130 pounds, the T-shirt covered a nearly concave chest. His skin, having apparently been deprived of sunlight.
Averin has a big roll in the book trying to keep himself out of trouble but also compares his life from the real world.
What I love most about The Last Goodbye is the backdrop of Atlanta's underbelly. The topics of race, interracial romance, drugs, inner-city neighborhoods and crimes are insightful and realistic. The aforementioned backdrop and topics are my favorite aspects of the novel. I also love the fact that the story is ironic at times. Reed Arvin is a very talented writer. As said earlier, I often read this sort of book with a cynical eye, for I can't help but wonder who will star in the inevitable film version, but this novel floored me. It's one of the best thrillers out there The reason why i say it is the best thriller is because you never want to put the book down its like you can imagine what is going on but you have to know about stock marketing so you can understand the ending of the book.